Invisible Magic
by Typically in Love
Summary: Pranks are never fun for the one they’re being played on, especially if it leads to an awkward conversation. However, maybe this prank was a blessing in disguise? It sure produced some very unexpected results.


[Canon] [For mature audiences.] Pranks are never fun for the one they're being played on, especially if it leads to an awkward conversation. However, maybe this prank was a blessing in disguise? It sure produced some very unexpected results.

Invisible Magic

Shippo loved to play practical jokes and even though everyone was eligible for being subject to one of his pranks, his favorite target was InuYasha. It was just so easy to set off his temper and Shippo got a kick out of it. Said kick was usually from the angered hanyou, but it was often times worth the pain he went through. A sneaky smirk lit up Shippo's face as he tossed up and down one of his magic acorns. His latest prank was going to be one of his best, and he was dying to test it on his favorite subject.

He was currently hiding behind one of the bushes near Kaede's hut spying on InuYasha, who was taking a nap on the hut's roof. They had been stationed in the familiar village for the last three days awaiting Kagome's return from her home beyond the well, and to say things were boring would have been an understatement.

Shippo skittered over to the far side of the hut where the shade concealed him. He had to do this quickly because as soon as the acorn hit the roof the explosion would surely wake the sleeping hanyou. The brilliance of this prank was that the explosion wasn't one of destruction. It was an explosion of an overwhelming scent, Kagome's scent to be exact. InuYasha would wake up with Kagome's scent overpowering his senses.

Shippo snickered quietly to himself. It had taken a long time to perfect Kagome's scent with his magic, but he had finally managed to capture it completely. And now his hard work was about to pay off. Taking a quick jump out of the shadows, he threw the acorn up onto the roof.

It had been a dull day for InuYasha. No scratch that. The past three days had been dull, but that's the way it always was when Kagome was gone. Luckily she was due back later that day. So, deciding that it would help pass the time, he took a nap in one of the places where he would be able to catch her scent when she returned.

He had just entered dreamland when a loud popping sound had his ears twitching in alertness. It wasn't long before a strong waft of Kagome's scent drifted around him. He shot up into a sitting position, and was about to jump off toward the well when the scent gradually grew stronger and overpowering. His eyes began to water, and he almost felt like he was going to suffocate. Why was Kagome's scent so strong? It was never this strong, even when she was standing right next to him. So, why now? He felt his consciousness start to fade, and he didn't even know he was falling off the hut until he hit the ground with a hard thud.

Having his face in the dirt helped clear his head, and he stayed in this position until his senses were stable once again. He slowly lifted his head, and opened his eyes. He still didn't trust his nose, so he continued to breathe through his mouth. He took in his surroundings hoping he'd find the cause of the intense smell, but nothing was in sight.

He was about to pass the whole thing off as some sort of dream, when a snicker had his ears swiveling in the sound's direction. He felt anger heat his blood, and was about to go and pounce on the culprit when another loud popping sound went off. Throughout his anger, InuYasha had started breathing through his nose again, so when he breathed in the strong scent he found himself with his face in the dirt once more.

Meanwhile, Kagome had had a long tiring day of failing her tests, and all she wanted to do was go take a breather from anything to do with fractions, long division, and proofs. The Feudal Era just happened to be the perfect place to use as an escape. She was just approaching Kaede's hut's vicinity when she spotted what appeared to be InuYasha face down on the ground. She picked up her pace so that she'd be by his side quicker, and just when she was about to kneel down and ask if he was alright, a high pitched, "Kagome!" was heard. She only had a second to recognize this before a ball of fur collided with her chest.

Kagome easily caught Shippo, and answered him with a smile. "Well hello, Shippo." Her smiled faltered when she once again took in InuYasha's position. "So tell me, why is InuYasha unconscious down there?"

Shippo barely spared a look over his should before he answered nonchalantly, "Oh, I sorta tried my new trick on him."

Disapproval laced her tone as she said, "Why would you do that? You know InuYasha doesn't like your tricks being played on him, and I don't think anyone else really appreciates you using them as your test dummies either."

"Aw, but Kagome," Shippo whined. "I have to practice on somebody. How else do you expect me to improve my kitsune magic? And besides, I get my best results with InuYasha. He falls for them every time!"

Kagome was just about to continue to express her disappointment in him, when she heard a growl emanate from the fallen hanyou. "Shippo," he snarled threateningly as he pushed himself off the ground. In a matter of seconds he was hovering over Kagome, glaring down at the fox in her arms, but just before he was going to wreak havoc on the poor defenseless child, Kagome's scent caught his attention.

InuYasha stepped back as quickly as he had approached. Although, it wasn't as overwhelming as Shippo's fake impression of it, the affect of it was just as bad. Kagome was in heat. Right in the middle of her cycle judging by how strong and intoxicating the aroma was. Of course this just had to be spring too. Demons everywhere were being influenced by the mating season, and InuYasha was no exception.

Kagome gave him a questionable look. "InuYasha, are you alright?" she asked as she took a step toward him causing him to respond by taking another step back.

His eyes widened slightly as he was once again forced to breathe through his mouth. "I'm fine." he said in a rush. It was a lie though because he was anything but fine. He wanted to grab her and pull her close to him, so that he could embed his nose in the crook of her neck and just breathe in her delicious scent until he was completely high off of it alone. However, he reigned in his animal instincts, and continued to breathe through his mouth.

Shippo was confused as to why InuYasha was acting so weird… or weirder than normal. He peered closer at the hanyou, and noticed that InuYasha wasn't breathing through his nose. This confused Shippo even more. What smelled so offensive to him now? He sniffed the air a couple of times before he noticed that Kagome's scent was just a tad but stronger and maybe even a little bit sweeter than normal. He looked up at Kagome with a curious gaze. "Kagome, why do you smell different?" he asked, completely ignoring InuYasha's warning growl.

Momentarily distracted from InuYasha's odd behavior, Kagome looked down at the child in her arms. "What do you mean, Shippo?" she asked as her brow furrowed in bewilderment.

Shippo jumped out of her arms and perched himself on her shoulder. He took a whiff of her neck, which had InuYasha growling jealously, and replied, "Your scent is different. It's even prettier than normal. Did you clean with something you don't usually?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I didn't do anything different." she answered as confusion set in even more.

Shippo cocked his head to the side in thought, and then looked over at InuYasha. He was the one that was acting strange, so Shippo deduced that he would know why Kagome smelt sweeter. "InuYasha, why do you think Kagome's scent's changed?"

InuYasha straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest. "Feh, what the hell are you talking about, Runt? Nothing's different." he stated as he looked away from them, hoping that the kitsune would let it go, but apparently luck wasn't on his side.

Shippo could tell that he was lying just by InuYasha's stance. It was a typical denial posture. "Liar! You know why! I can tell! So, spit it out!"

A light blush dusted across the bridge of InuYasha's nose. He could tell that the kid wasn't going to let this go, so he begrudgingly decided to tell them. He kept his eyes directed at anything but them. "She'sinheat." He mumbled in one breath.

Both Shippo and Kagome blinked in incomprehension. Neither of them had caught what InuYasha had said. "Huh, what was that InuYasha?" Kagome asked completely confused.

InuYasha flushed a bright red. Why wouldn't they just drop it? He wished he could just flee from this awkward situation, but he knew that the consequence of that would make him look like a coward, and that was one thing he was not. So, he took a subtle deep breath and said, "Kagome's in heat."

Kagome seemed to still be confused, but Shippo's raised his eyebrows in comprehension. "Oh, so that's why she smells so good."

"I still don't understand." Kagome complained. She was getting frustrated being the only one not knowing what was going on, especially since it happened to be about her. "I'm in heat? What does that even mean?"

Before InuYasha could even attempt to explain the finer points about a female being in heat, Shippo plunged right in with his explanation. "I don't know everything about it, but I do know that when Momma went into heat she and Father would spend a lot of alone time together." he stated this with a wise expression. He was sitting on Kagome's shoulder with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, but when he opened his eyes again they were filled with innocent curiosity. "InuYasha, do you know why Father and Momma were always going off together during her heat?"

InuYasha didn't think it was possible for him to feel even more embarrassed than he already was, but the runt had to go and prove him wrong. "L-look all you need to know is that when a female's in heat… it just means that her body is ready to carry pups."

Shippo cocked his head to the side and asked innocently, "Pups? You mean Kagome's body is ready to carry a baby?" Shippo was suddenly very excited. "Then you guys should hurry up and make one! I want a little brother or sister!"

Kagome's face was now equal in color to InuYasha's. "Shippo!" she exclaimed as she looked at him with wide eyes. "How do you even know about 'making babies'? Shouldn't you still believe that the stork brings them?"

Shippo scrunched up his nose. "A stork? What's that?" He disregarded the statement and went on to ask more important ones. "And I really don't know how a baby is made. I just know that the baby grows in the mother's tummy." He paused for a moment as a thought struck him. His mother and father would never be able to explain this to him, so should his adoptive parents be the ones to finally tell him? He was old enough to know or at least he thought so. "Hey, do you think you guys could tell me how a baby is made?"

Shippo was on a roll with the embarrassment today. InuYasha and Kagome glanced at each other and then quickly looked away, feeling their cheeks get impossibly hotter. "Shippo, I don't think… I don't think we…" Kagome trailed off not really knowing how to get out of this situation when the kitsune was staring up at her with hopeful eyes. Her soft side taking over, she let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine, we'll tell you the mechanics of it. I guess you're old enough to know that much."

"What's all this _we_ stuff, Wench? _I _ain't doing nothing. If you want to explain this to him, then this is all _you_." InuYasha huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away from her. Talking about the subject of mating with Kagome while she was in heat was the last thing InuYasha wanted to do. As if the situation wasn't tempting enough.

Kagome shifted Shippo from her shoulders and then placed him on the ground. She then walked over and stood in front of InuYasha while sporting a calm but pleading expression. "Please help me with this, InuYasha? I can't tell him everything because I'm neither a male nor a demon. I don't know how it is for you guys. I can only tell him how 'it' works."

He took a couple of steps back, not liking the close proximity she'd created. "Wench, if you want to educate the runt in the ways of mating you're on your own. I want nothing to do with this." he replied with as much determination as he could muster although a hint of desperation tinted his voice as well. Couldn't she tell that this was for her own good?

Apparently she couldn't because her calm demeanor quickly changed to anger. "InuYasha, you will help me whether you like it or not! You're the one who mentioned the whole heat thing, so you're going to help answer all the questions that it caused!"

Although, to a certain extent, her anger frightened him, he was determined to stay by his decision. "Oh, and if I don't?"

A flash shot through her eyes and if InuYasha hadn't seen it a thousand times in the past, then he would have dismissed it as nothing, but as it were he did know what that flash meant. His ears laid flat against his skull and he braced himself for the upcoming command. "InuYasha, sit!" Kagome yelled, and InuYasha instantly plunged toward his old friend, the ground. "Would you please grow up and handle this maturely? I know that's a lot to ask and all, but this is important! Now, if you don't want to be sat again, then you'd better reconsider helping me explain this to Shippo!"

InuYasha grumbled against the dirt about "insufferable wenches" and Shippo snickered behind his hands as he smiled at the subdued hanyou. When the spell wore off, InuYasha pushed himself off the ground and glared at Kagome. "Fine have it your way, but if anything happens, then it'll be on your head."

She looked at him in confusion. What was going to happen? They were just explaining sex to a little kid. It was hardly a dangerous task. So it was going to be a little awkward, but it was not something to get all heated up about. She decided to humor him so that they might get this show on the road. "Fine, InuYasha, whatever happens is my fault. Are you happy yet?"

InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest again. "Feh, no, I won't be happy until this is over with." He just prayed that this conversation went over as painlessly as possible. "Let's just get this done." he said as he turned and started walking toward the forest that was his namesake.

"Hey, InuYasha, where are you going?" Shippo called after him, but was nonetheless following after him with Kagome.

InuYasha snorted. "You're crazy if ya think I'm going to talk about this in public." he hollered over his shoulder. He walked with determination. He wouldn't go to a secluded place. That would just be asking for something to happen. No, he would lead them to the edge of the village. Just far enough away from eavesdroppers, but close enough where if someone were to scream they would be able to hear it.

Kagome rolled her eyes in annoyance. She knew the hanyou was making too big a deal about this, but if going to extremes made him a little bit more comfortable with the situation then she would tolerate it.

By the time they reached the destination that InuYasha had picked out, Kagome had gone through most of what she was going to say to Shippo. Granted she could probably handle the basics, but when it came to a male's personal experience InuYasha had to cover that. They all sat down in a little circle with Shippo staring up at both of them with excited eyes. "Alright, Shippo, let's start off with you telling us how much you know about sex."

"Mating." InuYasha inputted with a slight blush on his face. Kagome stared over at him with a questionable expression. "Mating is a better term than sex." he explained, not looking her in the eye.

Kagome smiled appreciatively. "Alright," she said as she looked back over at Shippo. "How much do you know about _mating_, Shippo?"

"Well, I don't know much. All Father told me was that when you loved someone very much you should mate with them." Shippo explained good-naturedly. "That's really all he told me. Oh! But I do know that Momma and Father often went off to be alone together and that when they came back they would smell like each other. I just always figured they had just got done… mating."

Kagome took a deep breath, hoping to push back the embarrassment, and then trudged on with the sex education lesson. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you know that mating is more about love than desire. …That's not to say that love and desire don't coexist, but when two people love each other it is that love that should take precedence over desire." She paused and noticed Shippo was looking at her with a blank expression. She smiled slightly. "What I'm trying to say is that you should mate for love, but from what you told me you already knew that."

"Yep!" Shippo nodded vigorously, but suddenly stopped when a thought entered his mind. "Wait, then why does Miroku ask any beautiful girl he sees to bear his child? He can't possibly be in love with all of them?"

Kagome sighed. "That's a story for another day." she replied, then cleared her throat to continue with the explanation. "Okay, back to business. Shippo, during the mating process the male will get an… erection, which is… when a boy's penis hardens and lengthens due to it being filled with blood."

InuYasha stared at Kagome with wide eyes. How did she know that? Until now he had thought that she'd never seen a penis, but her explanation shrouded him in doubt. He'd definitely have to ask the sneaky wench later. Shippo was looking at Kagome with a similar expression except his was more out of fear then shock. "Do-does it hurt?" he asked as his voice quivered a bit.

Kagome looked over at InuYasha and widened her eyes a little to emphasis that he should handle this question. He blinked away his astonishment, and looked over at the boy. "Uh, not really. It can ache if it's an overwhelming one and nothing's done to relieve it, but when that happens it just feels like when you've slept in an uncomfortable position. It's stiff and twinges a bit, but it's not painful. Most of the time it feels pretty good." He blushed as he finished. What an embarrassing conversation this was turning out to be.

Albeit a little mortified by what he'd said, Kagome was also amazed and thankful that InuYasha was taking this talk seriously. She smiled over at him encouragingly. "Does that answer your question, Shippo?" she asked the kitsune. Shippo nodded, so Kagome continued, "Now since females don't have penises they get aroused in a different way. You see, a female's private part is called a vagina, and when a female gets aroused it becomes… wet."

InuYasha closed his eyes and stifled a groan. Luckily Shippo and Kagome were too involved in their discussion to notice his odd behavior. Thinking about Kagome and being wet in the same thought was unintentionally giving _him_ an erection. He shifted a bit to adjust himself. He opened his eyes again to maybe distract his thoughts.

"Wet? How does a girl get wet? Do girls have to be in water to get aroused?" Shippo asked naively.

Kagome shook her head and subdued a giggle. "No, they don't have to be in water. The female body just naturally makes it damp down there so that mating is less painful for her." she replied patiently.

InuYasha was finding it difficult to keep himself from reaching out and touching her, from pulling her up against him. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands to keep his urges at bay, but if she kept going down the path she was on he feared that he might have permanent nerve damage in his hands.

"The actual mating act happens when the male… inserts his penis into the female's vagina. …Do you understand?" she asked, praying that she wouldn't have to explain it better.

Shippo was quiet for a moment. "…It goes inside of the girl?" His voice was full of wonder, and Kagome nodded. "…Is that it then? That's all there is to mating? Is that how a baby is made? By just putting that inside the girl?"

Kagome blinked to battle off the wave of questions. "No, that's not all. …After the penis is inside the vagina… the act of mating begins." As Kagome continued to tell Shippo about how the pleasure takes over the couples' bodies and InuYasha watched in a daze. He didn't know how she knew so much about mating, but her extra knowledge wasn't making his situation any better. He clenched his eyes shut again and tried a deep breathing exercise, which proved ineffective. Sure it helped cleanse his mind of the images Kagome's words were inflicting on him, but with every deep breath he took he pulled in more of Kagome's intoxicating scent. "…And after so much pleasure an… orgasm happens." InuYasha groaned quietly at the word.

"An orgasm…?" Shippo inquired with confusion in his eyes.

"Mmhm." Kagome said as blush colored her cheeks. It was the first time throughout this conversation that a word actually embarrassed her. She didn't know why per say, but there was just something about the word orgasm that made her antsy. She inhaled to clear her thoughts before continuing the conversation. "You see, Shippo, when a male has an orgasm he releases what's called semen into the female."

"What's semen?" Shippo asked with curiosity in his eyes.

Kagome closed her eyes to prepare herself for this question. "Well, uh, it's kinda, um… it's this white substance. I really don't know much else about it physically. Maybe InuYasha can shed more light on it?" Kagome looked over at InuYasha to find him looking at her with a death glare.

InuYasha had snapped out of his little exercise as soon as she mentioned him. When her question registered to him the glare had come automatically. How could she make him answer this? It was basically having him admit that he pleasured himself. Not that it was something to be ashamed of, but it was his personal business. He was determined not to say a word, but she gave him the pleading look which had him looking away in mortified defeat. His mouth took on a pout formation as he answered, "It comes out in a sticky, jelly-like liquid, …but after awhile it becomes more watery than the blobby mass it was."

"Thank you, InuYasha." Kagome said with a slight blush dusting her cheeks. InuYasha answered with his trade mark, "Feh." before Kagome continued. "Now, the semen is made up of thousands of sperm, which are the male's reproductive cells. What that means is that the sperm is what helps make a baby. You see all it takes is one tiny sperm, but with each… ejaculation--when the male as an orgasm--thousands are released." She took in Shippo's expression to make sure he was keeping up. His intrigued countenance told her he was doing just fine. "These sperms make their way into the female's uterus--the place where the baby grows--but many of them run out of energy before making it to the egg. The egg is the female's reproductive cell, and if the sperm fuses with the egg then a baby will be born in nine months."

Shippo was quiet for a moment, taking in the new information. "How does the sperm know where to go?" he asked with confusion coating his voice.

Kagome pursed her lips in thought, but before Kagome could answer InuYasha interjected. "Come on, Runt, there's only one way for it to go. It just keeps moving forward."

"InuYasha!" Kagome chastened.

"What?" InuYasha asked in an incredulous manner. "He asked a question and I answered it."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to be so rude about it!" she replied with an annoyed expression.

"Feh." was InuYasha's intelligent response as he crossed his arms over his chest. He would have continued the argument except for the fact that he didn't think he could control himself if he saw Kagome all flushed and angry.

Shippo ignored the couple's banter and accepted InuYasha's answer. "Alright, but how does the sperm fuse with the egg? It's impossible to see it once it's inside a girl. It's invisible by then."

Kagome smiled over at him kindly. "Well, it's like magic, Shippo. It just happens."

"Invisible magic?" he asked with a certain excitement in his voice.

She let out a laugh as she ruffled his hair, happy that the conversation was done with. "Exactly." Her smile stayed in place as he pushed her hand away playfully.

InuYasha watched their little exchange and was once again overwhelmed with the urge to just reach out and touch Kagome. Her scent wasn't getting any easier to ignore even after sitting so close to her for so long. He was about to get up and leave, when Kagome spoke up.

"Shippo, if all your questions are answered why don't you head over to Kaede's and see if she needs any firewood to make dinner with tonight?" she asked. It was an excuse to get rid of the little kitsune. Her ulterior motive was to get InuYasha alone to see if she could get him to confess what was bothering him.

Although Shippo looked a little disappointed that the quality time had to end, he nonetheless went off to do what Kagome suggested. As soon as Shippo started hopping away, InuYasha stood to leave as well, but Kagome quickly stood to stop him. "InuYasha, wait."

InuYasha tensed and thought about the consequences of staying, but the concern in her voice convinced him to stay anyway. "Yeah, what is it, Wench?" he replied with his back to her, ready to flee as soon as she said what she needed to.

Hearing his impatient reply, Kagome's shoulders dropped a bit, but she nonetheless still wanted to know what had gotten into him. "I just wanted to talk. You've been acting weird ever since I got back, and I'm a little worried about you. …Did _I_ do something?" She worried her bottom lip as she continued to stare at his tense back, waiting for his answer.

Guilt flooded his conscience as he listened to her blame herself for his mood. Even if she were the direct cause of it, it wasn't like she had any control over her heat cycle or the effect it had on him. With a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and slowly turned to face her. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm fine, so just drop it, would ya?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes in defiance. "No, I will not drop it. It's obvious that you're lying. You're not fine, and I want to know what's going on with you!" she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

As her scent spiked in anger, InuYasha lost his last bit of self-control. In a flash he was right in front of her, his face an inch from hers. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden invasion of space, but what surprised her even more was the intense gaze his eyes held hers with. "You want to know what's wrong with me, Wench?" he said as he placed his hands on her hips and yanked her body so that it was flush against his.

In this position, Kagome could feel the hard contours of InuYasha's chest and the reality of feeling him pressed against her own chest was doing funny things to her stomach. …Or maybe it was the hard rod pressing against said stomach that was eliciting such reactions. Either way a blush made its way across Kagome's face. "InuYasha?" she asked timidly, but instead of getting an answer he leaned forward and buried his face in the crook of her neck causing Kagome to let out an "eep!"

"Kagome, you're in heat." he mumbled against her neck as he inhaled her intoxicating scent.

His hot breath against her skin was doing nothing to stop Kagome's stomach from flipping. This caused her scent to spike again, but instead of in anger it was because of arousal.

InuYasha resisted the urge to taste the skin of her neck as he said, "Do you have any idea what your scent does to me when it's normal? It drives me crazy with its enticing smell, but now that it's practically ten times stronger and ten times sweeter… I don't know if I can control myself anymore." As if to prove his point, he went ahead and nipped her neck, finally getting a little taste of her on his tongue. This action cause Kagome buck up against him in shock. InuYasha bit back a groan as he continued, "That's why I was trying to put distance between us. So I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, but your stubborn ass wouldn't have any of that. No, you had to be _worried_ about me!"

For the last couple of seconds Kagome's mind had been completely blank. It was like her brain was a block of wood instead of the sponge it usually was. She couldn't make sense of any of the things InuYasha was telling her. "What?" she wheezed out as his hands started to travel up and down the length of her back.

"Aren't you listening, Wench?" he growled as he nipped her neck again only it was more condescendingly this time. A quick smirk danced across his face when he heard her gasp. "Now listen, you're in heat during the middle of spring."

The vibration of his voice on her neck was making the funny feelings in her stomach turn to liquid heat and she had a hard time keeping her breathing from becoming labored pants. She closed her eyes in hopes of pulling her thoughts together and to regain her sensible speaking ability. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What does spring have to do with me being in heat, InuYasha?"

"Everything!" InuYasha all but roared. His grip on her tightened as he took several more deep breaths. "Spring is mating season. It's a time where every mature demons' instincts are telling them to claim a mate. …I'm no exception to the influence of spring. My demon blood is telling me to find my mate and… your scent just so happens to be calling for me to claim you as well. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. There's just no middle ground."

Mate? InuYasha wanted to take her as his mate? Shock was fast outweighing any other emotion that she had been feeling in light of her current situation and Kagome was having a hard time dealing with all of these chaotic feelings she was being forced to experience. "InuYasha, are you… are you telling me that you want me to be your mate?" She wanted to know the answer, but she was afraid that she might be assuming too much from what he'd said.

He didn't answer for a long moment. He just kept his face imbedded in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent as he tried to come up with the right words to not have her overreact or scare her away. However, as he continued to breathe in her scent he found it hard to think coherently with her pressed up against him. "What I'm saying, Kagome, is that your body calls to mine and I'm not sure how much longer I can continue ignoring it. …My control is slipping."

Kagome took a shaky breath. From what she deduced, his body wanted hers, but if it weren't for the mating season he'd be completely indifferent to her. Her heart became heavy. How many times had she fantasized about InuYasha coming to her, needing her? But she didn't want it to happen this way! The start of tears started to sting the back side of her eyes and she tried her hardest to hold the sob inside her chest.

The slightest whiff of salt had InuYasha suddenly pushing Kagome out of his arms. He jumped back a couple of steps to put distance between them. He swore to himself that he would not do anything that Kagome wasn't willing to do. He took in her appearance and saw that she had barrier her face in her hands and was standing very still.

InuYasha's ears flattened against his head. He hated to cause her any kind of distress and for that reason he would leave her to keep her safe. "I'll go." he said as he turned to do just that.

"Sit." Kagome said from behind her hands. As his face hit the dirt, Kagome slowly walked over to him and then knelt down beside him. They stayed that way for a couple of minutes and even though the sit spell had worn off InuYasha made no attempt to move.

The silence continued for a couple more seconds before Kagome spoke. "…I'm just a little …overwhelmed. And completely torn between what I should do." she said in a shaky voice. InuYasha just continued his silent status from the ground. "On one hand I don't want you to go because I don't want our friendship to be effected because of this and on the other hand …I _should_ let you go because I can't pretend. I can't let this happened when the only reason that we would be doing it would be because it's mating season."

It was as if the whole countryside went quiet after she uttered those last words. Not even birds twittered nor the bustle in the village could be heard in their soundless bubble which was why Kagome flinched from the unexpected growl that escaped InuYasha before he pushed himself off the ground.

"You stupid wench!" he growled as he glared into her teary eyes. "You don't understand at all! Just because it's mating season doesn't mean I have to mate with just anyone! You don't see me acting this way around Sango do you? No, because her scent doesn't call to me like yours does! And my body isn't the only thing that wants you, _I_ want you! Mind and soul! Damn it, Kagome, why don't you see that?"

Kagome stared wide-eyed with all trace of tears gone. As his words sunk into her head, she suddenly had to look away. A deep blush spread across her cheeks and she couldn't find the strength to look at him again. He wanted to mate with her… and not just because she was an able bodied female either. But because he wanted her. _He _wanted _her. _The butterflies in her stomach increased by tenfold.

InuYasha watched her look away and with that he felt his spirit fall. Of course she wouldn't want to be with him. What could he offer? He was just a filthy half-breed. He didn't have home to give her or a cent to his name. Why would she want to be lowered to his level by becoming his mate? He continued to berate himself until a tiny voice pulled him out. "You… you want me?"

His ears twitched as he looked her. Her question was so quiet that he had barely heard her. She still wasn't looking at him, but he did notice a fine blush across her cheeks. He took a deep breath and then reached out and took her chin in his hands to make her look at him. Her eyes widened as he looked into her eyes very intently. "Yes." he said confidently.

As she searched his eyes, she couldn't find any trace of dishonesty in them. He really wanted her. She bit her lip in nervousness, but she had to ask. "So, what would happen… if we were to… do this?"

It was InuYasha's turn for his eyes to widen. She was actually considering this? It took him a good while to answer, to get over his shock. He blinked and then cleared his throat as he let go of her chin. "Well, you would be mine. My mate. Your lifespan would match mine to ensure that we would be together as long as possible. It would be a forever thing, Kagome. You wouldn't be able to change your mind."

"Would that make _you mine _as well?"

A small smile graced his lips. "That's exactly what I would be." he said as his tone took on a husky level.

Her stomach did a huge flip as she thought about what she was about to do. Kagome chewed the inside of her cheek as she reached forward and took both his hands in hers and then scooted so that their knees were touching. "Well then," She placed his hands on her waist and then her hands traveled up the lengths of his arms to rest on his shoulders. "becoming your mate sounds amazing."

InuYasha stared at her for a long moment to make sure what she said was exactly what she wanted before he pulled her onto his lap and finally claimed her lips with his. His hands traveled from her waist to her middle back and then pulled her firmly to him so that there was nothing in-between them. Not even air.

Their lips danced together in a dance that only their owners could hear. Kagome's hands moved up from his shoulders to claim the fuzzy appendages that had once been off limits to her. She gently grasped them and then began to gently massage them. InuYasha's answering growl of approval had Kagome smiling into their kiss. And he said that he hated having his ears touched.

InuYasha broke the kiss to give his mate-to-be some much needed air, but he didn't want to stop tasting her so he simply kissed his way down to her neck. He alternated between nipping, kissing, and sucking her neck. Her answering moan sent the rest of his blood south and he had to fight himself from taking her right then and there.

He slowly lowered her to the ground so that his hands could roam her body more fully. As his moved back up to claim her lips again, he was plagued with images of the future that was now in his grip. A mate, a family, the whole enchilada. He would have it all since Kagome would become pregnant after this mating. Her cycle ensured that. He pictured her round with his pup and his need intensified. Her traveling around… in constant danger… On the run from Naraku…

These thoughts had him pulling away in fear. How could he even think about bringing a child into a world where Naraku still existed. …He looked down at Kagome who was looking up at him in confusion. "InuYasha?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

He took a deep breath. "We have to stop." he said as he crawled all the way off her. She sat up in more confusion than she had been feeling.

"Did you change your mind?" she asked as sudden tears filled her eyes. Did he suddenly not want her to be his mate? Had she done something wrong?

InuYasha saw Kagome's distress and quickly pulled her into his arms. "No. I didn't change my mind, Kagome. I'll never want anyone, but you. But if we do this now you'll get pregnant. There's no maybe about it. A pup will be the result. Your heat guarantees it."

As she took in his words, she understood why he had stopped. They couldn't very well take care of a baby now. Naraku was still out there and to bring a baby into the picture would just be plain cruel. "You're right. We have to stop. A baby now would be irresponsible." she replied as she sighed against his chest.

Throughout her thinking process and speech, InuYasha had been running his hand through her raven tresses. He had a determined look on his face as he retracted her from his chest to look her in the eye. "I will make you my mate. We're just gonna have to wait until your cycle ends. …I'm just gonna have to put some distance between us until then." He gave her a coy smile. "You're driving me crazy, Mate."

She gave him a cheerful smile as she crossed her wrists behind his neck. "I can't wait to become your mate, InuYasha." she said in a loving voice.

InuYasha leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "We'll be together before you know it." he said in just a loving voice as she had. Kagome looked into his eyes and could see all the love for her as his voice conveyed.

After a few more moments of basking in each other's closeness, they picked themselves up and walked back to Kaede's hut. At the door InuYasha gave her one more kiss before jumping over to a nearby tree. There he let himself cool down from the days unexpected results. A genuine smile lit up his face as he thought about how the day had started. Maybe Shippo's prank hadn't been such a bad thing after all.

* * *

AN: I don't know how I feel about this one. I was gonna go further with this, but I think I like the open-ended ending.

Signed,  
Typically

P.S. I have no claim on InuYasha.


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